


Something Tangible

by Telesilla



Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-08-03
Updated: 2004-08-03
Packaged: 2017-10-05 21:17:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telesilla/pseuds/Telesilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One of the other actors initially considered for the role of Boromir takes the part.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Tangible

**Author's Note:**

  * For [helens78](https://archiveofourown.org/users/helens78/gifts).



It's going to require a lot of sacrifice on everyone's parts, but the books had been important to both Liam and Natasha, and they both hope that the boys will feel the same when they're a little older. "You'll come and visit," Liam says, standing in the airport, Air New Zealand ticket in hand.

"I will," Natasha says. "I'll come down and see scenic New Zealand --the mountains, the sea," she goes up on her tiptoes and whispers in his ear, "the blokes you've managed to shag."

Leaning down to spare her the effort, Liam chuckles and nuzzles her ear before replying. "You know the rules, love: tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."

And she laughs and says she will and then Jennifer comes over with the boys and there are good-byes and promises to call and so Liam sets off for New Zealand to play the part of Boromir "a Man of Gondor" with a smile on his face.

* * *

Liam's smile is nowhere in evidence as Pete once more pulls Stuart aside. It's not that Liam doesn't like Stuart; in fact, he likes the boy just fine. _The boy._ There's the problem. Aragorn is supposed to be of the generation of Boromir's grandfather even if he doesn't look it, and there's no way in hell anyone is going to buy that Stuart's in his late 80s when he's in a scene with Liam.

"That's it for the day," Pete says several minutes later, interrupting a particularly loud game of Tig Liam's been watching with a bemused smile. Sean and Liam exchange knowing glances and Liam wonders who's going to be let go, himself or Stuart. Because it's painfully obvious one of them has to go and Liam has a feeling it's going to be himself.

"Tog," Liam says, smacking Dom lightly on the shoulder. "No, wait -- that's wrong and the forfeit is me buying the round down at the pub."

He'll miss these boys, Liam thinks later that evening, watching Billy make an incredible shot into the side pocket. He hasn't actually shagged any of them yet and he hasn't really wanted to, even though Orlando for one has made it fairly clear that any offer in that direction will be accepted. They're all so young; even Billy acts much younger when his age. The nice thing is that they don't make Liam feel old. A little protective, yes, but the wonderful thing about this group is the way they include everyone around them into their fun. "Come play with us," seems to be the motto of the HobbitsnOrli and even the steady, sensible Sean, so like Sam, lightens up around them.

The buzz of his phone against his thigh distracts Liam and he pulls it out of his pocket. As he makes his way out the door, he mentally calculates the time in New York. "Hullo beautiful," he says, adopting a sleazy lounge lizard type voice. "What are you wearing?"

"Same thing I always am, big boy," a male voice with a broad Kiwi accent answers.

"Christ," Liam replies with a laugh. "Thought it was Tasha."

"Talk to me about Viggo Mortensen," Pete says, sounding like a man in a hurry.

"Ruby Cairo," Liam says. "Didn't do a single scene with him but he's good. A little odd at times as I recall. Intense." Taking a deep breath he adds, "he'd be an interesting Boromir."

"What?" Pete says, sounding genuinely surprised. "Don't be stupid, Liam, you're my Boromir. I just talked Mortensen into Aragorn. Well, actually, I think his son did most of my work for me. He'll be here in a couple of days."

"Pete?" Liam says after a surprisingly heartfelt sigh. He's almost shaken by the extreme sense of relief he feels and he's once more faced with the fact of just how much he wants to be part of this project, how much leaving would have hurt. "Those khaki shorts of yours drive me wild."

"Call your fucking wife, ya horny bastard," Pete says with a hurried laugh before ringing off.

* * *

Viggo turns out to be even more intense than Liam remembered. Their very first scene is Boromir's death scene, and the night before the shoot Liam is able to laugh with Elijah -- who of course turns out to be a big Star Wars fan -- about telling Aragorn to "train the boy." The next morning, however, he feels no need to make the same jokes with Viggo.

Instead something about Viggo's intensity, the look in his eyes, says so much about Aragorn's complex feelings that it fuels Liam's own need to make the scene perfect. He lets it all fall away, losing everything that isn't purely Boromir and so neither he nor Viggo notice the audience they gain as the scene goes on.

Even during the lunch break, both actors retreat to different parts of the set and speak no more than they have to. Liam refuses every offer of food, almost resenting the time necessary for the crew to finish eating. The scene is nagging at him; it feels like those moments in a thunderstorm before the rain comes and Liam _needs_ to get back in and finish it.

Viggo obviously feels the same way, and the usual mind-numbing deja-vu of saying the same line over and over as each angle was shot doesn't faze either actor. They nail the lines every time, each word perfect and perfectly delivered, until at last Pete, in a hushed voice very unlike him, says, "cut. And it's a wrap."

"Don't want to move yet," Liam says softly to whoever it is -- Orli maybe? -- who is offering him a hand up. Viggo, he notices vaguely, is walking off into the trees and that feels oddly wrong, but right now Liam can't figure out why. He closes his eyes, easily blocking out the hushed voices of Phillippa and Fran as they talk to Pete about needing to do more rewrites of earlier scenes.

Finally, slowly, Liam began to come back to himself and as he opens his eyes, he looks for Viggo. Not only does he not see him but he sees Viggo's sword leaning against a tree. The feeling of wrongness grows and Liam sits up before climbing to his feet, waving off one of the assistants who leaps forward to help him up.

Pausing only to pick up the sword, he moves into the light forest, looking for ... Viggo. _Not Aragorn, but Viggo. The man I just did one of the better scenes of my life with._

He spots Viggo walking toward him and the feeling of wrongness begins to fade.

"I was coming to...." he begins as Viggo speaks at the same time.

"I was just looking...."

They both go silent and smile a little foolishly.

"You all right?" Viggo asks.

"Dying's never hurt like this," Liam says, rubbing lightly at his chest where the sticky arrow wound still marks his costume.

"God," Viggo says, sounding both relieved and concerned. "It hurt me too. I feel ... feel like he's made of glass. Very hot glass and that one single drop of cold water will shatter him. Don't know how he's going to go on."

"No, no shattering," Liam says, suddenly remembering that Viggo hasn't finished the books yet. "It's not in the script, but there's a song, a beautiful song about Boromir and then Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli put Boromir in the boat and start their epic run across the plains."

"It's not enough," Viggo says. "Aragorn needs something ... something tangible to take with him." He looks away then. "He'll miss Boromir's strength," he says his voice even more of a mumble than usual. "Even though they don't agree, he counts on that strength being there."

Viggo looks up then, right into Liam's eyes. "_I_ count on it," he says and Liam's not entirely sure if this is Viggo speaking or Aragorn. Really though, it doesn't matter.

"You have it," he says. He reaches out to put his hand on Viggo's shoulder, wondering why it's taken him so long to notice how heavy a burden Viggo carries on this project. As Viggo rests a hand on Liam's forearm, Liam suddenly gets an idea. "Something tangible," he says, looking at the finely tooled leather of his wrist bracers.

* * *

Much later that evening, Liam looks at Viggo in the dim light coming from the doorway between the bedroom and the bathroom. Viggo's sprawled across Liam's bed, stark naked except for Boromir's wrist bracers. _So goddamn gorgeous,_ Liam thinks, not sure if he's just had incredible sex with Aragorn or Viggo or both. He does know, with more regret than expected, that this was the only time they'll be together. Viggo _needed_ tonight and Liam liked being needed as much as Viggo liked needing.

_It would be addictive,_ Liam thinks, lighting up a cigarette. He laughs a little at the irony and Viggo mumbles something and reaches a hand out across the bed, blindly searching for Liam. Liam remains where he is, standing by the bed, and after a moment Viggo gives up, stroking the bracer on his other wrist before settling back down.

The next weekend, Liam shags Orli against the bathroom wall in the middle of a beach party, both of them a little stoned and neither of them managing to quiet the laughter entirely.

When next Liam talks to Natasha, Orli's the bloke he tells her about in graphic detail while the sound of her breathless sighs encourage him on.

He never says a thing about Viggo to anyone, but several years later, when the last reshoots for _Return of the King_ are done, Viggo sends one of the bracers to Liam and Liam finds himself smiling for most of the day.

_Orlando,_ he muses without any rancor whatsoever, _probably adores being needed._

_-end-_

**Author's Note:**

> For [](http://helens78.livejournal.com/profile)[**helens78**](http://helens78.livejournal.com/) in thanks for the beta and because she appreciates Mr. Neeson almost as much as I do.


End file.
